Jennifer Horton, 49, formerly from New Palestine is facing federal charges.
HANCOCK COUNTY — A local fraud case against a former New Palestine woman, Jennifer Horton, was officially noticed by federal officials in the United States District Court, Southern District of Indiana, and now officials there have opened a federal case against Horton, records show.
The Daily Reporter wrote an article on Horton in March of 2023 after she was charged locally with theft and fraud that officials say began in 2014 after they confirmed she had committed fraud and robbed her Greenfield employer of over $550,000 in pay along with taking money through other means over the past decade.
Hancock County Prosecutor Brent Eaton, however, officially dropped those charges in October of 2023 after federal officials became interested in the case, he said. According to federal documents, Horton, a former bookkeeper for a Greenfield business, committed five different counts of wire fraud — federal crimes.
Horton, 49, who lived in New Palestine at the time of the incidents, was originally charged with a C felony count of theft of at least $100,000 and a D felony count of fraud from incidents that began in 2014 and lasted through 2022. Horton and her husband eventually sold their home in Hancock County and moved to Kentucky.
The federal affidavit noted that Horton devised and executed a scheme to defraud Company 1 (located in Greenfield) by means of false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises concerning material facts and matters.
“The object of the scheme was for Horton to enrich herself by obtaining money belonging to or intended for Company 1 for her own personal use,” the federal affidavit said.
Not only is Horton accused of fraudulently inflating her salary, federal officials say, but she diverted customer credit card payments, the federal affidavit said.
Federal documents note that, “between, in or around January 2016 through December 2022, within the Southern District of Indiana and elsewhere, Horton did knowingly transmit and cause to be transmitted by means of wire communication in interstate and foreign commerce, writing, signs, signals, pictures, and sounds.”
The five wire fraud charges deal with interstate wire transmissions surrounding the transfer of money in 2019 and in 2022, the federal affidavit states.
Court records show Horton has entered a not guilty plea, submitted March 12.
Upon conviction of the federal charges, which court documents show could carry up to 20 years in federal prison, Horton is subject to forfeiture of property, which could include four different vehicles.
The court documents also state federal officials will seek an order of forfeiture in the form of a money judgment of $1,002,680, representing the amount of proceeds the defendant obtained from violations.
Court records show Horton is due back in federal court April 25 for a pretrial conference. A jury trial in the matter remains set for May 13 in Indianapolis. The case is currently before Judge James R. Sweeney II, United States District Court Southern District of Indiana.
Eaton noted officials with the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department did an incredible job of digging through the evidence and information and providing his office with what they needed to originally file charges.
“It was a lot of work and Det. Doug Cook did an incredible job,” Eaton said. “As we worked through the case and met with the victim it became apparent that this was a case where we thought that Federal Law Enforcement may have resources that exceeded what we have available to help ensure appropriate accountability for the defendant and justice for the victim.”
Eaton was the one who reached out to the FBI and shared information with the federal officials, and afterwards they decided to pick up the ball from there.
“We are grateful for the Department of Justice and the FBI for being great partners with us in this case and look forward to them working it to an effective resolution,” Eaton said. “These cases are very difficult and time consuming.”
For more details on the original Greenfield Daily Reporter story please visit, https://www.greenfieldreporter.com/2023/03/22/np-woman-accused-of-stealing-thousands-from-employer/.
